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It can’t happen now. While some employees work inside the building, County Hall is closed to the public and “social distancing” rules would ban such gatherings anyway.
“This has created a huge disruption in the way we do transactions in western New York,” said Nancy Saia, a local real estate lawyer. “We can’t do that anymore. “
So, local real estate attorneys have come up with creative solutions to ensure that documents are signed and notarized, and then delivered to the county for registration.
For example, Saia said, lawyers have asked clients to sit in their cars and sign the papers, with a lawyer peering out the window to observe. The documents are then passed through the window of the wet ink pad.
“If we have to sign someone from our office, we try to do it remotely,” she said.
The lawyer stands in the doorway to explain the documents, then walks away to allow the clients to sign. Then the lawyer signs, wearing gloves and a mask.
But the documents still have to be handed over to the registry, after the signature of three lawyers and the buyer. And if it’s a mortgage, lenders require signatures and legalization to be completed on the same day.
So lawyers either use delivery services like FedEx or UPS, or one of the many companies that will electronically file the documents with the clerk for processing. Even then, it will not be saved right away as before.
